The Idoani Confederacy is a
traditional state based in the town of
Idoani
Idoani is a quiet small town in Ondo State of Nigeria where the Federal Government College, Idoani, is located.
It is the seat of the Idoani Confederacy, a Nigerian traditional state.
Idoani is under the Ose local government in Ondo state. T ...
in the
Ose Local Government Area of
Ondo State
Ondo State ( yo, Ìpínlẹ̀ Oǹdó) is a state in southwestern Nigeria. It was created on 3 February 1976 from the former Western State. It borders Ekiti State to the north, Kogi State to the northeast, Edo State to the east, Delta State to ...
, Nigeria. The origins of the state date back at least to 15th century, when the Oba
Ozolua
Ozolua, originally called Okpame and later called Ozolua n'Ibaromi (Ozolua the Conqueror), was an Oba of the Kingdom of Benin from 1483 until 1514. He greatly expanded the Kingdom through warfare and increased contact with the Portuguese Empire. ...
"the Conqueror" (c. 1481–1504) fathered the Alani of Idoani, which he made a vassal state of the
Benin Empire.
Early years
The present confederacy, which dates to 1880, includes six eastern
Yoruba
The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute ...
communes: Ido, Amusigbo, Isure, Iyayu, Isewa and Ako.
Some of these had two concurrent rulers in the past.
The communities that formed the confederacy had suffered during the 19th century wars, with many people migrating to other areas.
During the struggle with the combined forces of
Ijesha
The Ijesha (written as Ìjẹ̀ṣà in Yoruba orthography) are a sub- ethnicity of the Yorubas of West Africa. Ilesha is the largest town and historic cultural capital of the Ijesha people, and is home to a kingdom of the same name, ruled by an ...
and
Ekiti in 1879 they were forced to ask for help from
Ibadan
Ibadan (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Oyo State, in Nigeria. It is the third-largest city by population in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano, with a total population of 3,649,000 as of 2021, and over 6 million people within its me ...
, and formed the confederacy the next year.
British missionaries introduced Christianity in the late 19th century, along with new farming methods, and Idoani became part of the
Lagos colony
Lagos Colony was a British colonial possession centred on the port of Lagos in what is now southern Nigeria. Lagos was annexed on 6 August 1861 under the threat of force by Commander Beddingfield of HMS Prometheus who was accompanied by the Ac ...
, later the protectorate of Nigeria.
[
The communities were merged in 1921. The first confederate traditional ruler was appointed after the death of Alani Adesunloye Atewogboye on 3 January 1921.][
Falade I ruled as Alani from 1921 to 1958, and was succeeded by Akingboye Falade II on his death.
]
Disputed succession
In the early 1970s, Akingboye Falade II died and a temporary regent was installed by the traditional authorities, who ended up ruling for 14 years due to a dispute between the chiefs and the government over the succession process.
The military government then installed an Alani of their choice in the traditional ruler's palace, who was accepted by some but not all of the chiefs.Bamidele Olumilua
Bamidele Isola Olumilua (1940 – 4 June 2020) was a Nigerian politician who was the elected Governor of Ondo State, Nigeria from January 1992 to November 1993 during the Nigerian Third Republic, elected on the Social Democratic Party (SDP) platfo ...
became governor (1992–1993) he imposed traditional law, and Oba Aderemi Atewogboye was elected.
However, the usurper remained in the palace, and the town was divided between the two.[
After the return to military rule, the Administrator of Ondo State from August 1996 to August 1998, Anthony Onyearugbulem, presented the staff of office to the rival Alani of Idoani, a person said by some to have no royal blood.
]
Recent times
With the return to civilian government in 1999, Aderemi Atewogboye was recognized as the ruler.
He continues to perform duties such as intervening in family disputes or cases of violence against women.
In April 2009 he led a delegation of several hundred people from the Ose community to protest against delays in ratifying that area's designate for a commissioner in the state government.
In 2009 Atewogboye called on the government to improve the roads, which had suffered years of neglect and were impassable at some times of the year.
References
{{Nigerian traditional states
Nigerian traditional states
History of Nigeria
Yoruba history